Bitter Jealousy
by NakanoHana
Summary: Wolfram has always been worried that Yuuri flirted shamelessly when he wasn't around. But what will happen when he takes his worries and obsessions too far? Later squinty YuuRam, methinks
1. Chapter 1

This story won't be too long, but I had to do something to make up for the one I deleted. I just had no intention of ever finishing that, so I figured I'd just get rid of it altogether without the epic "hiatus" sign or anything. Sorry to any of you that cared, and for those for you that didn't, here ya go! :)

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"Wolfram, come on! I wasn't doing anything, I swear!"

"YOU EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE THAT, YOU LITTLE FLIRT?"

Yuuri gulped and ran for his life, dodging several surprised soldiers who quickly looked away. They knew better than to try and get involved when the 'little lord brat' was moody...

Wolfram was hot on his heels, glaring menacingly with emerald eyes that could almost kill. He couldn't believe _his _fiance had been flirting with that little tramp from the castle market _again_!

Lately, Yuuri had been going down to the castle market every other day, supposedly improving relations with his people and taking Greta on father-daughter outings. And for the longest time Wolfram agreed to trust him, so he stayed behind to drill his soldiers whenever the young maoh went out. He was content with it, until the day Yuuri came back with a strange, woven bracelet dangling on his wrist...

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_"Yuuri, Greta! You're back!" The blonde demon knelt down and scooped his daughter up into his arms, as his fiance waved happily and came over to them. "Did you have a good day?"_

_"Yeah!" The child exclaimed, beaming brightly and holding up a small bag draped across her shoulder. "Yuuri and I got to go shopping with Conrad, and he bought me all these neat presents!" _

_Wolfram smiled, patting her head softly. "That's great, Greta! I'm glad you had a good time."_

_He set her down after a while, telling her to go run off and find the maids. The weather was fair enough, so they could have a nice little tea party in the courtyard that afternoon. Greta nodded happily before doing as she was told, leaving the two boys alone..._

_The double black smiled at him. "So, how'd the training go today? I bet you keep your men working hard."_

_Wolfram scoffed, shaking his head in annoyance. "Of course! We have to be ready for anything, especially with such a wimp maoh guiding us!" Yuuri gave him a brief look but shrugged it off, probably deeming it not worth arguing over. Wolfram always noticed these little gestures, but he smiled secretly each time, knowing he was getting his way._

_Something colorful on Yuuri's wrist caught his eye then, and he looked down to see a small, thin woven band tied loosely around it. It contained threads of red and blue, with a little bit of purple and black mixed in, and the pattern of the threads was relatively simple. But the presence of the bracelet caught him slightly off guard, and there was something about it he didn't like._

_"Hey, Yuuri? What is that thing on your wrist? I didn't think you were the type to wear jewelry." He asked innocently. The young maoh blinked at him, confused, before glancing down at his wrist and chuckling slightly. Was that a nervous chuckle?_

_"Oh yeah, that. Well, usually I'm not, but it was a present from a friend of mine who lives by the market. It's called a friendship bracelet..." He explained, looking a little embarrassed._

_Wolfram raised an eyebrow. "Which friend is that?" He'd never heard of the concept of such bracelets before. It must be a new fad or something..._

_"Actually, you haven't met her yet." Yuuri answered, rubbing the back of his head and looking down a little. _

_Woah, woah, back up! Her? Wolfram didn't like the sound of this. Was Yuuri cheating on him? He knew the boy would say no, that he was just being silly, but then why hadn't Yuuri mentioned this friend before? Or even introduced them? And they were exchanging gifts?_

_The blonde demon felt himself beginning to frown, and he began his usual question and answer session, complete with mildly threatening tone. "And why is that?"_

_Yuuri blushed a little, but smiled reassuringly. "W-Well, I just met her recently. When I was shopping at the market the other day, I found one of the stall owners yelling at her for stealing an apple from his cart. Of course, I had to step in and help her, and once things were settled she invited me back to her house to thank me."_

_Wolfram listened, though none too patiently, as the angry vein began throbbing in the back of his head. 'Invited me back to her house'...'thank me'...He was getting all the wrong ideas. And Yuuri's small blush wasn't helping._

_"I visited her a couple of times since then. Her family has been having some hard times, and she told me that she was stealing the apple to feed her sick mother, who was bed-ridden and unable to work. She was all alone, so what could I do?"_

_Then Yuuri smiled a little more. "I gave her some money to help them get by, and when I went to see her today, she gave me this bracelet. She said she made it herself, and it was the best she could offer to thank me for all my help. You're right, I'm not really into jewelry all that much. But it meant a lot to her, and I promised I'd wear it and visit her often."_

_Wolfram raised his eyebrow again, frowning. This story sounded fishy...a little too convenient, really. Gwendal's reports showed that there was little to no poverty in the area immediately near the castle, and he himself had never once visited a house that wasn't middle class or above. How could there be a family so destitute in the town? And there were some possible 'implications' in the boy's story. There had to be something Yuuri wasn't telling him..._

_"I don't really like you wearing it, Yuuri. It isn't something befitting a strong, fearsome maoh." He tried making up an excuse that didn't make him sound like a jealous lover, but as usual, Yuuri saw right through it, glaring at him briefly._

_"There's nothing going on, Wolfram. And it's my arm; I can wear whatever I want on it." The double black was clearly irked, but just then a very familiar came up behind them and stood stock-still, coughing a little to call Yuuri's attention._

_"Your Majesty, Gwendal is asking that you come to his office as soon as possible."_

_"It's Yuuri, Conrad. And I'll go right now."_

_The brunette smiled. "Alright, Yuuri."_

_As he and the king turned to walk back into the castle, Conrad shot a sideways glance at Wolfram before he followed swiftly behind Yuuri, leaving the blonde alone by the front door._

_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

Needless to say, Wolfram had kept a watchful eye on Yuuri since then, trying to catch him slipping up or sleeping around. It began to put a strain on their friendship, as the blonde would assault him with questions and he would cooly reply, "I don't have to explain myself to you. There's nothing wrong with Elsa, so just drop it!"

Wolfram asked Greta about it, but she said she'd never met a little girl of that description. She said that Yuuri would occasionally go off on his own for a while and she would play with the other children at the market, but Yuuri had never taken her to meet Elsa. He'd mentioned her, yes, but the little girls had never met. The girls were close in age, or so his fiance had told him, so wouldn't they be perfect playmates for each other?

He also tried asking Conrad, but the soldier would have none of it. He only ruffled his younger brother's hair, smiling and saying, "You two work this out on your own. It's not for me to say." Of course, Conrad was just being annoyingly difficult...

Wolfram had even taken to following Yuuri once in a while to the market, watching him like a hawk everywhere he went. Though, the young maoh seemed to be more tired and worried-looking as of late, and he would go off to the girls house threatening Wolfram not to follow him. The blonde would blink in anger and surprise. Why was he being so weird about this?

Well, back to the present, Yuuri ducked into a small bedroom and tried to slam the door, but Wolfram was too quick. The angry blonde grabbed the handle and pulled back with amazing force, and the young maoh yelped in surprise as he tried to hold the door shut.

Finally, though, Wolfram yanked the door open and stalked in, glaring at Yuuri with a few tears in his eyes. He slammed the door behind him and locked it.

"Why, Yuuri? Why do you do this to me? I'm you're fiance!"

The scared boy suddenly became angrier, and even as he backed away slightly he held a firm glare and tone.

"Wolf, you're being ridiculous! Why can't you just trust me for once? And I've told you a hundred times; that proposal was an accident!"

The blonde advanced on him, pinning him against the wall and stared into his coal-black eyes. He grabbed Yuuri's shoulders roughly and shook him a little.

"HOW DARE YOU GO OUT AND FLIRT WITH SOME LITTLE TART WHEN YOU PROMISED TO BE WITH ME? WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS SO DISTANT, YUURI? WHY CAN'T YOU LOVE ME?"

Yuuri pushed him off and spat back, no longer letting his fear stop him.

"DON'T YOU DARE CALL HER THAT! AND I'M NOT INTO GUYS, WOLFRAM! I'VE SAID IT BEFORE AND I'LL SAY IT AGAIN; I CAN'T LOVE YOU THAT WAY!"

Something in Wolfram snapped then, like a small, fragile twig that was cracked by a foot in the forest. Or by the heat and pressure of a fire. He was angry and sad, and in so much pain then as he saw that Yuuri looked serious. Before the boy could say anything more though, Wolfram grabbed him roughly by the neck and held him there as he shrieked. Yuuri's eyes widened in surprise and fear at his friend's actions.

"WHY, YUURI? WHY CAN'T YOU LOVE ME?"

Wolfram shook his fiance slightly, as Yuuri began to choke and gasp. His hold kept tightening, and the young maoh's throat burned painfully as he tried to take in air.

"Wolfram...please...stop..." He brought his hands up to claw at the one holding his neck, but the grip was like a vice. He began to feel dizzy and heavy, coughing through the blocked passage and feeling his legs wobble beneath him. And still the blonde would not let up.

'WHY WOULD YOU CHOOSE HER OVER ME? WHY? WHY?" Each 'why' got successively louder, but Yuuri was beginning to feel far away.

"Wolf...ah...s-stop..."

"WHY?"

"Your Majesty?"

Wolfram was shocked out of his episode by knocking at the door, followed by the voice of a soldier. He looked back to Yuuri and gasped in horror, seeing that he was choking the boy to the point that he turned bluish-white. The blonde stifled a terrified cry as he released him, watching as the young maoh crumbled to the floor.

The man outside seemed to be getting worried, fiddling with the handle of the door. "Your Majesty? Lord von Christ sent me to come get you. He says it's urgent...Are you alright?"

Wolfram merely stood there, in utter silence and shock. He was too afraid to answer the door for multiple reasons, but the biggest one was his unconscious fiance laying on the ground at his feet. He gasped again when, upon further inspection, he saw large, ugly purple bruises beginning to form on the pale, delicate skin.

_My god...D-Did I just-_

"Your Majesty! Please answer!" There was banging at the door now, and soon Wolfram could hear his brothers out there as well. He knew Conrad would be in the very front, trying to break the door down.

"Yuuri! Yuuri!" There it was.

Wolfram panicked, sinking to his knees and sobbing loudly. How could his anger have run away with him like that? How could he have let it?

It didn't take long before the door fell in, and in barged Conrad and Gunter, swords drawn and eyes full of worry. They surveyed the room and found a sobbing Wolfram and an unconscious Yuuri in the middle of the floor...

"Yuuri!"

"Your Majesty!"

They raced to him, Gunter taking the black-haired boy up in his arms and Conrad checking him for injuries and signs of life. He growled as he saw the purple marks forming on his godson's neck, but as he felt the boy's wrist he sighed with relief upon finding a steady pulse. No one knew what had happened yet, but at least Yuuri was still alive...

Gunter turned back to Wolfram, who sat sobbing and transfixed on that one spot on the floor.

"Wolfram! What happened to his majesty?" He asked urgently, looking around but finding no attackers. The window wasn't even unlocked or broken...

The blonde said nothing, only muttered incoherently and shook violently as he swam in the realm of his dark thoughts. _I almost killed him...I almost killed him..._

"Wolfram? Please tell us what happened!"

He jumped and yelped at the hand that was suddenly on his shoulder, turning to meet his second oldest brother's worried gaze. The soldier looked concerned for _him; _Yuuri's vital signs were fine and there seemed to be nothing else wrong with him. Wolfram, on the other hand, looked like he'd seen a ghost. Or maybe been possessed by one...

"I...I..." The blonde stuttered, completely at a loss for words. He was a traitor now. He'd almost murdered his king, and if that wasn't bad enough, he's probably destroyed the little hope they had of being happy together in any kind of relationship. All his hopes and dreams dashed like rocks on a beach, being slowly but surely and painfully worn away with time.

"I..." Tears filled his eyes, as all eyes in the room turned to him for answers and assurance. He looked at Yuuri once more, seeing his adorable face so pale and pained, and his heart cracked. He stood and ran from the room, not certain of where he was going. But he didn't care, he just kept ignoring the shouts from the room where the remains of his old life were still being broken and smashed, the sound of it lingering in his ears...

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Yosak came into the room then, watching as Conrad laid Yuuri on the bed and Gunter told a nearby soldier to send for Gisela. The spy stood by his old friend, watching the sleeping boy before him sadly. _Poor Yuuri...and poor Wolfram..._

"Yosak..." Conrad's voice was firm but soft, and he wasn't looking at him as he said it. He never took his eyes off Yuuri, cursing himself inside for not being there when the boy needed him most. "Did you see who did this?"

His friend sighed heavily, shaking his head sadly. "You're not gonna like what I have to say. And as soon as the kid wakes up, he isn't going to like it either."

"Please, Yosak. I have to know."

Another heavy sigh, and a brief period of silence.

"It was Wolfram."


	2. Chapter 2

"You can't mean that."

Yosak gave a short nod, completely serious.

Gwendal's fists clenched hard at his sides. Everyone had gone deathly quiet at the news of what had happened, and the normally soft, inconsequential sound of those muscles tensing seemed to echo in everyone's ears.

"How could his lordship do something like this?" Gunter cried, leaning over the bed and crushing his maoh in a firm embrace. "He could have killed his majesty!"

"Guys, please! Calm down!" Yuuri begged, glancing at each worried, angry face in turn. Once he managed to struggle free of his most zealous caretaker, the boy sat up and spoke as confidently as he could muster. "I-I'm fine, see? There's no harm done! Can't we just let this one go?"

"I'm afraid not, Yuuri." The maoh looked to his godfather. He seemed to be taking this news better than the others, though his face was somber and tired, his eyes meeting the maoh's apologetically. "Regardless of how we feel, we cannot ignore Wolfram's actions. This could very well be considered an assassination attempt."

Yuuri's eyes widened. "But that's absurd! Wolfram wouldn't do something like that!"

"He attacked you. That alone should constitute punishment," Gwendel replied, looking far more aggravated then usual.

"What's gotten into you guys? This is Wolfram we're talking about!" The double black looked to them again, feeling an unpleasant churn in his stomach as each expression seemed grimmer than the last. They wanted to take extreme action, over something this small. It was just Wolfram being Wolfram. The jealous, self-proclaimed fiance who was always chasing him.

And Wolfram was dear to all of them. His brothers, his friends...Yuuri couldn't help but think it was all his fault.

"Can't we just pretend it never happened?"

Conrad shook his head. "Before we had control of the situation, someone spread the word through the castle that Your Highness was attacked. It has reached town by now, I'm sure."

Yuuri sat up, looking as though he would try to stand, but Gunter pushed him down gently. "Please, Your Highness. You mustn't be moving around so soon."

"I'm fine, Gunter. really." His memory was a bit hazy, though, but he remembered the conversation leading up to the incident pretty well. The maoh also felt a bit light-headed, but he refused to let the others keep him from doing what he was set to do. He was their king, after all.

Pushing the demon away as gently as he could, the maoh slid both feet onto the floor and stood. Blood immediately rushed to his head, and he teetered a bit, but refused to let Gunter hold him up. In a moment, the dizziness had passed, and his vision was clear, and he looked firmly to the others.

"See? Fine. Now, as your Maoh, I order you to stop the rumors and forget this whole incident."

"It's not that simple," Gwendel growled, growing more irritated with him. When Yuuri didn't back down, he sighed. "This wasn't Wolfram's usual behavior. As your protector and fiance, he has sworn an oath never to harm you, as we all have."

"Wolfram threatens me all the time. I don't see you all getting worked up when he does that," the double black protested, pouting slightly. Gwendel rubbed the back of his head, frustrated.

"Words are not the same as actions."

"But what about wars, huh?"

The others looked at him quizzically, and Yuuri began trying to explain, almost frantically. "If one country threatens war with another, then the other country has to take the threat seriously. They can't just wait until an army comes to attack them. If they don't take the threat seriously, they won't know whether or not to be prepared." Yuuri met his stern guardian's gaze, hoping he understood. "My point is, words have weight just like actions do! If this is seriously how we're going to take Wolfram, than he should have gotten in trouble with you long before this! Threatening the Maoh is the same as outright attacking me, right?"

Conrad blinked. "I suppose. But Your Highness, I hardly think this is helping Wolfram's case."

The maoh's eyes widened again, and he groaned, pulling at his hair a bit. "Why am I so bad at this? I have to be the worst king ever!"

A collective smile seemed to break over the once somber faces. It was a small one, but the epidemic spread to everyone.

"You certainly are one of the more interesting ones," Conrad said fondly, walking over to him and tousling his hair gently. Yuuri felt a wave of embarrassment and lowered his eyes, but he couldn't help the smile any more than anyone else could.

"Thanks, I guess."

After more discussion, and another mood swing of Yuuri's, the group finally decided to go with their Maoh's decision. Lord von Bielefeld would be face a small punishment, as agreed upon by Gwendal, Conrad, and Gunter, but at Yuuri's urging, they agreed to not be too harsh on him. For now, the matter would be put aside, settled once they had found Wolfram. Reports verified that he had left the castle, and was seen riding away by one of the stable hands, but to where, no one was sure. They would send out patrols for him later that day, to roam the streets out town. For now, everyone tried his or her best to return to their duties as usual. Gisela tended to Yuuri, checking to make sure he was comfortable, when the door flew open wide for the second time that day.

"Yuuri!" The young Maoh found Great instantly in his arms, squeezing him around the middle and crying softly.

"Are you okay? Please tell me you're okay!" she cried. Yuuri smiled warmly and guided her gently back onto his lap, cupping her cheek as she sniffled.

"Shhhhhhh. It's okay, Great, I'm fine."

She wiped a tear away. "You promise?"

"Of course. It's just a little bruise. It'll be gone in less than a day, right Gisela?"

The woman smiled as she stood by the bedside table, taking the ointment she had brought to soothe the purple mark.

"It's looking better already, Your Majesty." And it was. With her help, the mark had become lighter, less blatantly obvious as a whole. It was still clearly visible, but not angry. By the next day, you would have to squint in order to see it. She silently agreed that while it may have been a desperate, dangerous move on Wolfram's part, he had not done much damage. "Please rest for today. I'll be back later to apply more of this if you need it."

"Thank you," he called, just as she was leaving. He pouted at the idea of sitting in bed all day, but looked up curiously as his daughter began to giggle in his lap. "Hey. What's so funny?"

She smiled, rubbing one of her eyes as she spoke. "It's just...I'm relieved. I heard what happened and I was so worried, Yuuri."

He flashed her his trademark goofy smile. "There's nothing to be worried about. I'm fine...better than ever, really!" He flexed his arms like an over the top body builder, startling more laughs out of his little girl. "Look at this! Have you ever seen anything so impressive? Huh?"

"No!" Greta joked back, leaning in to hug her father again. "I'm so glad you're okay."

Yuuri kissed her forehead sweetly, murmuring, "Me too."

He held her for a moment silently, looking up as the door opened and Conrad stepped in. The man was clearly stressed out by this ordeal, but he was dealing with it all rather well. He'd been selected to go tell the previous Queen about the incident, and from the thin smile, Yuuri could guess that Lady Cecilie hadn't taken it very well.

It had to be hard for her, left to wonder about her son. Where had he gone, and how could he have let his emotions run away with him so easily?

Yuuri smiled and motioned his godfather to sit beside him, scooting over slightly with Greta still in his arms. Looking down at her, he was amazed to see she had fallen asleep, cuddled in his arms.

"In addition to patrolling, we will have the groups we've assembled try to stifle the rumors. We will tell the people that it was a failed attempt by a renegade demon, and that Wolfram ran off on his own, hoping to catch the culprit himself."

Yuuri nodded. They had to be careful what new rumor they spread, or else it might mean trouble with the humans. Things were still very delicate between humans and demons, though Yuuri had seen a definite change since he'd first come to Shin Makoku.

"Thanks, Conrad."

The man's smile grew more natural. "Of course, Your Highness."

The Maoh frowned. "Yuuri," he corrected. "Quit with the formalities, Conrad. You named me."

"As you wish, Yuuri." Conrad watched as the boy shifted to his side, tucking Greta under the covers next to him. He chuckled. "All that worrying must have worn her down."

"Yeah..." Yuuri looked down, feeling that familiar sense of guilt from earlier. Of course it was too soon to hear, but he desperately wanted to find where Wolfram had gone, and bring him back. If he had known his stubbornness would cause a problem this big, he would have just taken Wolfram to go meet his friend Elsa. But then...The blonde didn't trust him. It was annoying, even a little hurtful, to have to keep defending himself from the demon's wrath. Wolfram didn't trust him enough, as a friend or fiance or whatever. Not enough to fight his own battles_; certainly _not to make his own friends. Not even enough to be loyal to the ones that were always there with him, for him...

The young Maoh blushed lightly, not noticing his godfather's worried glance.

"Yuuri, are you alright?"

He sighed, slowly meeting the man's gaze sadly. "Yeah...I'm just worried about Wolfram. I know he shouldn't have gone that far, but I...I still feel like this is all my fault."

A warm, calloused hand touched his face, as his godfather calmly, but firmly, said, "It's _not_ your fault. Wolfram is too easily swayed by his emotions. He never should have broken his oath."

Yuuri sighed, not completely convinced, but Conrad continued reassuring him. "By all accounts, you have every right to break the oath that was forced upon you." With some humor, he added, "You proposed to him by accident. If you deny it now, he can't rightfully argue."

The Maoh accepted this thoughtfully, but now, thinking of spurning the engagement...he couldn't quite figure out why, but it didn't sit well with him. Even if Conrad was right. Even if he'd never taken the engagement seriously, it meant something to Wolfram. And he didn't want to hurt him again.

He cared too much about Wolfram to do that...

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Oh my god, I'm back! I am so, so so, so sorry for taking so long. But I promised I wouldn't drop my stories, and I'm planning to stick to that. Sorry also that not as much stuff really happened in this chapter. But here it is, back in business. Just about when I started this story, I got up to the last two episodes of season 3. So I know what really happens. This is just for fun and stress-relief and all that jazz :)


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